


Night of Lights

by stevegallacci



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 19:25:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13106913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevegallacci/pseuds/stevegallacci
Summary: The winter holidays means so many different things to the varied species of Zootopia. This Nichole and Julius variant touches on a bit of that.





	Night of Lights

Winter Solstice was coming and the various mammals had innumerable traditions and ways of celebrating it. Julius was all about his Midwinter Festival, displaying a level of sentimentality that Nichole didn't think possible. For her part, after too many years on the street only meant nasty weather and easy marks. 

"So what are you going to do for the holidays?" Julius was all but giddy with cheer. Had they not been on duty, she would have though he was a bit tipsy.

Nichole made a face, "I haven't done anything for mid winter in so long that I've gotten out of the habit." 

Julius was visibly shocked, "Not do a celebration? No MidWinter? No Solstice? No High Holy Howl?"

Nichole just rolled her eyes. "No. I volunteered for some extra shifts to cover you revelers, remember? And maybe some bad holiday movie marathons on TV." 

Julius was doubly shocked, "I thought you were joking!" He pulled his ears in frustration. "I was thinking about asking you to Bunny Borrow for things."

"Oh, that would be a great holiday treat, bringing you Fox partner home. They'd likely all die of shock, or do me for holiday dinner." She knew rabbits could not eat meat, but the image of her, done up as a roasted feast beast made her chuckle to herself. 

Poor Julius, he looked so disappointed, maybe not so much for taking her to the 'Burrow, but the idea of not actively celebrating. "Tell you what, do they do fruitcake?"

"Of course."

"Then bring me back a pile of them, especially if there is one with blueberries in it." She really liked fruitcake, the denser and sweeter the better. 

That seemed to settle that, though Julius' ears didn't perk back up as they wrapped up their shift and went their separate ways, Nichole saying that she had a thing to do, and Julius still had some last minute shopping before he headed back to the 'Burrow. 

Foxes were not nearly as intensely social as most other beasts, aside from immediate family, if they had such, and Nichole was largely used to going solo most of the time. True, there was something to be said about her time with the bunny boy, she could just eat him... Oh, never mind, as she blushed again about his under cover quip about 'tasting his carrot'. For such a straight-laced Ranger Scout, he could surprise her at times. 

But she had other thoughts, and other relationships. She had to do a little shopping of her own. 

She had arranged to cover some extra shifts, especially over-night shifts, which she actually preferred, even with the cold. Zootopia didn't get so wintry to expect over-all frost or snow, but it could get chilly and damp. The extra poof of her winter coat helped, and the sky glow of low clouds reflecting the city lights made the nights not nearly as ominously dark as one might expect. 

However, she made sure she got actual solstice night off. As it was a clear night, it was pretty dark, even in the heart of the city, fitting the traditionally longest, darkest night of the year. 

A faint tapping on the side of Finn's van let him know Ruby-Butt was outside. He hadn't heard much from her since she went legit, a terrible waste of talent. He had found himself a legit gig himself, without her creativity, he had to admit he didn't have the chops to do the kind of street hustles that made the kind of money he had gotten used to partnered up with her. 

He cracked the back door, baseball bat ready, just in case. And, shock and surprise. The van was surrounded by little LED 'candles', and there stood the crazy Fox, holding an oversize picnic basket. "Happy Night of Lights."

Night of Lights. He hadn't done anything with that tradition since - well too long ago to comfortably recall. "How did you know?"

Nichole rolled her eyes, "Remember, I kept telling you about how you sing sometimes when you're not totally passed out? Over the years you'd done just about the whole hymnbook. 

"Oh really?" Finn was surprised, he didn't know if he could think of a single one at the moment.

"Well, let me in and we can break out the feast." Nichole held out the basket. 

Inside the van, Nichole insisted that they turn off the overhead and she set out an array of additional LED candles. She then began to lay out the feast. She'd done her homework and had the array of special delicacies that a Fennec of his ilk would include for that special night. 

Finn was gob-smacked. He'd come from an unhappy home that had little enthusiasm for the holidays, and had only the sketchiest notion of what was 'normal' was for such. He knew his traditional cuisine, but it was too obscure or expensive to pursue, so his appreciation had been largely lost and all but forgotten. 

"Dang, Nichole! What, how?"

"You can find anything on the interweb. Besides, what else was I going to do tonight?" 

"Your cop shit. Or hang out with your bunny boy." 

Nichole sighed, "No, Bunny Boy is having Hallmark moments with his five gazillion kin back in Bunny Burrow. So I got tonight scheduled to be with the most miserable little sand dog in the city." 

Finn stuck out his tongue then dove into the delights before him. 

After an orgy of lip smacking, finger licking, and drink guzzling, the pair were delightfully bleary. "This has been the best, Ruby-Butt, thanks."

"Well, what else was I going to do tonight? You can watch 'Its a Wonderful Life' only so many times. 

"Yeah, what's up with that? It always ends the same."

Nichole yawned and snuggled into a pile of cushions. "Happy Night of Light, you little dog."

"Hey, you gonna crash here?" Finn was a bit surprised. She had only slept in the van in the first few days he had gotten it way back when, before she got her own place. 

"Sure. It's too cold and dark and late to be staggering around with a belly full of wine and food." Not that she was that full and definitely not that drunk. 

Finn considered. In all the years together they had never really groomed or cuddled, and definitely never tried to get more intimate. And they hadn't shared a sleeping space in years, but he had to admit, the notion of having her here tonight, the prospect of just the sound of her breathing and the clean scent of her, was more touching, more precious in the moment than anything she'd ever done. 

"Okay, Nichole, and a good New Year to you too."


End file.
